In January I staffed a DTS (Discipleship Training School) and had a small group of 5 girls that I had the privilege of pouring into. Here is a summary from one of them about how God changed their life during their 5 months here:

“Coming into DTS I felt like I had it all figured out — I thought that in order to please God and for Him to love me I needed to read my Bible more, pray more, and do more. As a result I was constantly disappointed in myself when I didn’t measure up to that standard. The sad thing is that the world conditions us to believe that we can always do more to get something, and I real- ly believed that was true when it came to my relationship with God. I was caught up in legalism and “earning” God’s love. But week after week in DTS, the truth that nothing I can do can make God love me more or love me less started to go from my head to my heart. God used fellow students, my small group leader Lori, and speakers to bring freedom in this area of my life.When outreach began in Brazil, I was able to share my freedomwith others and speak into the lives of people who were walkingin the same bondage I had walked in just months before. God truly released a boldness in me and a freedom that has changed my life. I am forever thankful to Him and to those who were a part of this journey and I can’t wait to continue telling others of God’s love for them!” – Morgan S.

In February I was able to teach for a week on Personal Design and Team Dynamics while our DTS was in Seattle for one week of out- reach. I really enjoy teaching this topic, and its wonderful to see students come to a greater understanding of who God has made them to be individually, and how they can effectively work as a team. All four outreach teams went to Brazil.
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￼It has been on my heart for several years now to begin helping new DTS leaders as they take a step up in leadership; transitioning from staff to school leaders. During this spring quarter I had the privilege of coaching one of our new DTS Leader’s, Leah. I acted as a sounding board for her, giving advice and encouragement as needed. I find this to be a very fulfilling role, and enjoy serving and supporting new leaders as they develop their leadership abilities to a greater measure.

Thailand is one of YWAM Lakeside’s “Target Nations”. We have been sending teams there consistently for over 25 years. Until recently those teams only saw sporadic salvations of Thai’s, but this has shifted over the last couple years, and our teams are now experiencing hundreds of Thai’s giving their lives to the Lord. This spring DTS team was even able to teach in a prison DTS in Ratchaburi – literally held in both a men’s & women’s prison!! The prisoners lives have been radically transformed by the gospel, and they do “outreach” to other sectors of the prison, sharing the gospel with other prisoners. Here is a story (photos prohibited) from one of our student’s in regards to her experience with this amazing ministry:

“During outreach I felt like God was calling me to teach in the Prison DTS. I doubted myself, and tried everything I could to get out of it. Some team members encouraged me, saying they felt like God was going to show me His goodness. Coincidentally, I had been planning to teach on Gods goodness! God totally came and met me in this place of doubt and inadequacy. During my teaching, two men in the prison became Christians!! God is SO good, he showed me that he never fails us.”—Angel B.

Summer: While this DTS team was on outreach, I stayed in Montana, staffing our leadership development course called DTS Equip. We had 20 participants from 7 different YWAM locations around the world, ranging from brand new DTS staff—to school leaders—to staff of other YWAM schools and ministries. This variety made our Equip course a rich experi- ence for everyone involved. Adding to the busyness of summer’s end came the 40th wedding anniversary of my parents. My family hosted a small celebration to honor them and this increasingly rare milestone. On the heels of this came a local wildfire, located up Blacktail Mtn a few miles from us. The sound of helicopters, planes and trucks carrying machinery filled the air. Our campus was on standby for evacuation for a week. We extended our property to use as the command post, and hosted 80 firemen sleeping in tents on our field; our staff putting in extra long hours helping serve early breakfasts and late dinners to those putting out the fire. The fire was able to be contained after a few days, and thank- fully our schools and summer programs finished without too much disruption.

Coming Up! This fall I will spend more time focusing on our debriefing ministry. In November, six of us will be heading to Cambodia to debrief some staff members there. I am really looking forward to this trip and the ways that God will use us in Cambodia!! Please pray for wisdom for us, as those we debrief are part of (or serving) the generation overcoming the tragedy caused by the Khmer Rouge. More on that in my next update…